“The great potato schism”

Summary

The Tony Kornheiser Show – “The Great Potato Schism”

Date: May 22, 2026
Host: Tony Kornheiser
Guests: Jason La Canfora, Pat Forde, Regulars (Michael, Nigel)

Episode Overview

This episode of The Tony Kornheiser Show kicks off with a lighthearted debate on potatoes and gardening—dubbed the "great potato schism"—before shifting into more serious sports discussions. Topics include the Baltimore Orioles’ struggles, the future of the college football playoff system, NFL draft surprises, current MLB and NBA playoff performances, and the impacts of gambling on college sports. The tone is classic Tony: humorous, irreverent, nostalgic, and deeply engaged with his rotating cast and listeners.

---

Main Topics & Key Insights

1. The Great Potato Schism: Gardening Debates and Domestic Life

[00:00–02:24]

• Potato Planting Saga: Tony, Michael, and Nigel debate the proper handling and storage of potatoes—organic versus non-organic, brown paper bags, and the mysterious "seed potatoes."
• "The dispute is there is some reason to believe the potatoes have to be organic. The potatoes that are in the pantry are not labeled." — Tony [00:24]
• Nigel discusses advice from his gardening mother about seed potatoes.
• Tony remains skeptical and slightly horrified by the look of seed potatoes:
  • "I don't want seed potatoes. Apparently, I looked at them. They're hideous…I'm not eating those." — Tony [08:48]
• Quote:
  • "You leave the potatoes alone, they'll sprout." — Michael [00:32]

Memorable Moment:

• The interplay between multi-generational, vaguely competitive gardening is pure family comedy.

---

2. Memorial Day Traditions & Community

[02:38–03:29]

• Tony announces “Taps Across America,” inviting musicians to play Taps at 3pm on Memorial Day, emphasizing community spirit.

---

3. Sports Talk: Obits, MLB & NBA Playoffs

a. Sudden Death of Kyle Busch
[03:30–04:39]

• Tone shifts to acknowledge the stunning and early death of NASCAR driver Kyle Busch.
  • "You don't expect this at this age…I'm not going to claim to know anything about it…" — Tony [04:27]

b. Washington Nationals Recap
[04:38–08:09]

• Tony and Michael break down the latest Nationals game vs. the Mets:
  • Nats’ escape in the 9th inning, frustrating missed opportunities in key at-bats.
  • Gloomy outlook for upcoming stretch vs. Atlanta, Cleveland, Padres.
  • "So it looks like nine, ten games that you're not going to win many. No, it looks that way." — Tony [07:31]

c. NHL & NBA Playoff Updates
[08:09–11:41]

• Montreal upsets Carolina in NHL conference finals:
  • "This reverses everything …that the home court, home ice, whatever means everything. Yeah, not to Montreal." — Tony [08:20]
• Knicks’ surge in NBA playoffs:
  • Tony gets nostalgic, discusses trades (Karl-Anthony Towns), coaching changes, Knicks’ defensive turnaround.
  • "Are they a championship team? Well, if they get there, they have a chance. Obviously, I don't think they're as good as the two Western teams, but it looks like they're going to sweep." — Tony [10:52]

---

4. Orioles Dissection with Jason La Canfora

[15:18–21:39]

Guest: Jason La Canfora
Theme: Orioles’ Collapse & Front Office Critique

• Jason launches a passionate critique:
  • "They're the despicable front office of the Houston Astros with zero playoff wins to show for it." — La Canfora [15:18]
  • Failure to develop starters, lack of accountability, and prioritizing stadium upgrades over winning.
• Management recycled, no new ideas:
  • "It's truly, truly stunning...the baseball product is...the fifth, sixth most important thing to these people." — La Canfora [19:52]
• Attendance boosted only by giveaways, not product quality.

Key Quotes:

• "They have not…instilled baseball IQ and sound fundamentals and superior defensive acumen in any of their prospects…they look like a rudderless ship." — La Canfora [18:12]
• "Michael speaks once a month. He throws these ridiculous Ivy League word salads out there…then he does the same garbage he always does." — La Canfora [15:55]

[21:12]

• Jason plugs his detailed Orioles and Ravens coverage at SI.com and YouTube: The Daily Flock.

---

5. NFL Draft & Team Analysis

[21:39–26:49]

• Surprise pick: Ty Simpson to LA Rams; analysis of Bengals’ and Cowboys’ strong offseasons; discourse on Jets’ QB pipeline.

  • "I think teams like the Bengals and Cowboys did a pretty good job. ...Giants are far closer to being truly competitive than the Jets." — La Canfora [22:57]

• Deshaun Watson’s uncertain future in Cleveland:

  • "The owner, boy, he'd love to be able to get something for this guy…they really don't want this to be the worst transaction in the history of professional sports." — La Canfora [24:23]

• Jason’s betting podcast “Wannabet” is on hiatus, but his Discord remains active for sports picks.

---

6. College Football Playoff Expansion with Pat Forde

[27:38–34:21]

Guest: Pat Forde
Theme: The Perils of a 24-Team College Football Playoff

• Widespread support (except SEC) for 24-team CFP; Forde warns it would “ruin college football.”
  • "If you want to just go ahead and ruin college football, this is an excellent step towards doing so." — Forde [28:11]
• Devaluing the regular season:
  • "The games that make the regular season ...incredibly dramatic ...become...‘Eh.’" — Forde [30:43]
• Motivations: Greed, watering down competition, more TV money.
• Playoff logistics: Five rounds, may force August starts, minimal solution is dropping conference championships.
• Sankey (SEC) remains the main opponent to expansion past 16.
  • "If you don't want a 24-team playoff, you are a Greg Sankey backer." — Forde [32:40]

---

7. College Sports Gambling Scandals

[34:21–38:11]

• Focus on Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby, whose significant gambling on obscure sports led to NCAA sanctions.
  • "He hit the triple crown. He did all." — Forde [35:09]
• Sorsby’s legal team argues barring him from practice harms his mental health.
  • "To me, I, you know, I thought that was an incredible statement." — Forde [36:13]
• Tony and Pat bemoan how sports betting’s normalization increases such problems.
  • "He is a casualty of betting. He is a casualty of all of these schools and leagues getting in bed with betting..." — Tony [37:09]

---

8. Amazon-Duke Basketball Rights

[38:11–39:32]

• Amazon will exclusively broadcast three Duke games, giving Duke a fundraising and publicity edge via direct NIL flow.
  • "Absolutely…it's the golden rules. Those with the gold make the rules…" — Forde [38:44]

---

9. Listener Emails and Ephemera

[40:29–46:13]

• Comedic deep-dive into the “organic” definition (are potatoes “organic” or just “organic chemicals”?)
• Pringles saga: emails from former Pringles ingredient buyers, quirky stats (e.g., Pringles stacked could reach 52 miles high in a day!)
• More potato jokes, bagel ads, celebrity sightings, and the show’s unique fandom.

---

Notable Quotes

• Tony (on the Knicks):
  "Are they a championship team? Well, if they get there, they have a chance. Obviously, I don't think they're as good as the two Western teams, but it looks like they're going to sweep.” [10:52]
• Jason La Canfora (on the Orioles):
  "They look like a rudderless ship, they play like a rudderless ship. And Michael Elias should have been fired years ago." [18:12]
• Pat Forde (on 24-team CFB Playoff):
  "If you want to just go ahead and ruin college football, this is an excellent step towards doing so." [28:11]
• Michael (on potatoes):
  "You leave the potatoes alone, they'll sprout." [00:32]
• Tony (on community traditions):
  "At 3pm local time on Memorial Day, you play taps. You don't have to be a trumpeter. Any instrument will do." [02:38]

---

Timestamps: Important Segments

• 00:00–02:24 – Potato schism, pantry debate, family gardening squabbles
• 02:38–03:29 – Taps Across America: Listener Memorial Day tradition plug
• 03:30–08:09 – Sudden NASCAR death, Nationals game, Nats’ bleak prospects
• 08:09–11:41 – NHL & NBA playoff recaps, Knicks’ renaissance, Tony’s fandom
• 15:18–21:39 – Jason La Canfora’s epic Orioles front office rant
• 21:39–26:49 – NFL draft surprises, Jets/Giants, Browns/Watson, “Wannabet” hiatus
• 27:38–34:21 – Pat Forde: College Football Playoff expansion critique
• 34:21–38:11 – Gambling in college sports: Sorsby case
• 38:11–39:32 – Amazon-Duke game deal and NIL implications
• 40:29–end – Listener emails: organic chemistry pranks, Pringles facts, more potato discourse

---

Episode Tone and Takeaways

• Classic TK Mix: Playful domestic squabbles, “old man yells at cloud” sports analysis, deep dives with brilliant cantankerous guests, and the show’s vibrant listener community (the “Littles”).
• Overarching Theme: The intersection of sport, fandom, tradition, and absurdity—from potatoes to playoff politics.
• Listener Value: Recaps essential news in a uniquely personal, funny, and accessible way. Even if you missed the episode, you’ll be caught up on both the real sports news and the running inside jokes.

---

If you missed “The Great Potato Schism,” you missed a little bit of sports, a lot of life, and a whole lot of potatoes.

Transcript

[Tony Kornheiser]

Hey, it's Tony. On today's show, we'll go around the NFL and the Baltimore Orioles with Jason Locanfora. He's down on the Orioles. And we'll talk to Pat40 about the Big Ten lobbying to have 24 teams in the college football playoffs. But first, commerce. Previously on the Tony Kornizer Show. The dispute is there is some reason to believe the potatoes have to be organic. Potatoes. The potatoes that are in the pantry are not labeled. I would have thought that everything was organic just by definition.

[Michael]

I think you leave the potatoes alone, they'll sprout.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay, well, that's what we're doing. Don't you think we should put them in a brown paper bag?

[Michael]

I put a brown paper bag next to them, which I think is good enough.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Doesn't mean anything. The Tony Kornheiser show is on now. We have potato conflict here. We're not all aligned.

[Michael]

Nigel's moving in my territory.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Nigel, number one son, why don't you. Why don't you explain what you found?

[Nigel]

Well, we wanted to maybe get some. Some different potatoes last. Late last week or early this week. And so I was going to the. I was going to check that out, and I was talking with me mum, who's a big gardener, and she said we should try seed potatoes. You can get them at the hardware store. So I've never heard of that. So I.

[Michael]

Hardware store.

[Pat 40]

I've heard of the Hogwarts.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I never heard of seed potatoes.

[Nigel]

I didn't even have to ask a worker, man. They were just right up front, four or five boxes of different kinds. I said, oh, well, that was easy.

[Michael]

They got the fancy Kenny Bunkport ones.

[Nigel]

Yes. And then when I opened them up,

[Tony Kornheiser]

so we were ready to go. Memorial Day, we're ready to plant.

[Nigel]

Well, yes, but first I thought, well, these ones still say you have to put them, like on a shelf with sunlight until the eyes sprout.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Then you opened.

[Nigel]

I opened them just to check out and see what they look like. And all they've sprouted magnificently, all of them. So I think they're ready.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, if they are seed potatoes, will they produce more seed potatoes or regular potatoes?

[Michael]

Regular potatoes, yeah.

[Nigel]

We think regular potatoes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't know. So then we're ready to go.

[Michael]

I think this just means they're. They're not gonna. They will produce the eye. They will be ready to go in the ground.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So we're ready to go.

[Nigel]

I think I have disease.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And the other potatoes that we have that are up in a cool, dark, dry place Next, we can eat them as potatoes.

[Michael]

Yeah, make a nice little gratin.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You can have potatoes.

[Nigel]

There you go.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So that's.

[Nigel]

Now we're just waiting on. On whether to get out there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, yeah, we're ready to go.

[Michael]

Like when he went to the Palm, he didn't invite us.

[Nigel]

No, it was the last second plan. I didn't think you guys, we thought we're going to go to the Nats game, but the weather sort of scared us away last night on Wednesday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Wednesday. But it, it was fine.

[Nigel]

It was fine. They ended up playing the whole game.

[Pat 40]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fine. From Steve the Sicker fan. Memorial Day is Monday, and I ask all Littles who play a musical instrument to participate in Taps Across America. Just hit the Google machine for detailed info. And if you want to register, it's simple. At 3pm local time on Memorial Day, you play taps. You don't have to be a trumpeter. Any instrument will do. I'll be on my back deck with my comet in Vietnam Boonie hat. But front yard, driveway, wherever you want is fine. Join us. So this is all across America.

[Jason Locanfora]

That's lovely.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And that's what we're going to tell people about. Also in terms of Steve the Sycophant being a friend of the show. Jolene Wojcick, a friend of the show, her retirement party was yesterday and no was Wednesday and her last day was Thursday. And so her friend Sandra Rhodey says, congrats, Jolene, who's been great to us over the years with the Masters.

[Nigel]

Yeah, we love Jolene, so.

[Tony Kornheiser]

We love Jolene. So let me get to a few things here. I've got to start with the just sudden and confusing death of Kyle Busch, 41 years old. I don't know anything about NASCAR. ESPN had the NASCAR contract for a few years and they put NASCAR drivers on with us. And some of them were wonderful. They really were. They were wonderful. But I don't know anything about nascar. I'm not going to claim to know anything about it. He was one of the top drivers. I mean, obviously one of the top drivers. Kyle Busch, 41 years old, to have been hospitalized with, you know, they say a sudden severe illness. I don't know what it was. Eventually we're going to know. But do you have to know? What's the point? Don't really have to know. So this is a, you know, you don't ever expect this at this age, in the middle of somebody's career. I mean, not to be too morbid, but you expect car racers to go in a car. Yeah, like in that terrible moment of some terrible crash like Dale Earnhardt or something like that. And if not, they live to be a hundred. Like Richard petty.

[Nigel]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's 100 years old. Right, Right. Still with us. Richard Petty. So sad. I. I can't speak to it in any way that's going to make any sense. So I just wanted to acknowledge. It should acknowledge some other things too. The Gnats, of course. The Gnats played yesterday in the last game of a homestand and the last game of a four game series against the Mets with the constant threat of rain, which never materialized at all, naturally. Did they lose 2 1? It was 2 to 1 at one point for much of the game. In the top of the ninth, the Mets put three men on with nobody out. Bases loaded, nobody out. I turned away at that point because I just. I figured they're going to score three or four runs and then Nats are not going to compete. Do you know what happened in the top of the night?

[Michael]

They got out of it.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's so. That's great.

[Pat 40]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I didn't think that was going to happen. Of course, the Nats a pitching move.

[Michael]

So your boy Poulin has been sent down for a little bit.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah.

[Michael]

Peter's back up.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Was. He was back up last night. He was in the game and he helped. Yes, because he didn't put the three runs on. The other guy put the three runs on.

[Pat 40]

Right.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Ribalta put three runs on. And I just said this is disastrous. Why am I watching this? The Nats had a chance. The Nats had second and third, nobody out. In the fifth inning, second and third, nobody out. The count goes 30 to Mead. 302 called strikes and a swing and a miss. A terrible strikeout. Terrible strikeout.

[Michael]

And the first. The first strike was a ball.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes. He should have challenged

[Michael]

strikes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He should have challenged that. We all saw that. Anyway, so he. It's a swinging third strike. Then Chaparro, who was just brought up. It's a ground ball to short, gets an rbi, Right. So they get one run in at that point. That's the one of two one. Right. And then who came? Abrams. Abrams hit a hard ball to first base. First baseman made a really nice.

[Michael]

Allowed to make a good play and

[Tony Kornheiser]

outran Vientos, I think, is the first baseman and outran him to first base. So that was it. That was, that was all they had.

[Michael]

They had a good chance in the ninth. And this is where. This is similar to what you saw in the. What eventually went to extras where they got embarrassed, but they had situations with, you know, runner on third and, and less than two outs and they just didn't get that final or that, that run across. Even though they are one of the highest scoring teams.

[Tony Kornheiser]

There were a lot of runs. But last night did not. No, not when it counted.

[Michael]

You even look at when Bichette got the, the, the, the two run single, you know that was, there was a hit by pitch, there was soft contact that just. There was no play and you just sort of have to let it stand.

[Tony Kornheiser]

These things happen. These things happen.

[Michael]

But looking forward to the team, that's one you would love to get in your back pocket. Just because you're going to two first place teams, Atlanta, Atlanta and Cleveland. And then after that you have the Padres at home.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's so it looks like nine, 10 games that you're not going to win many. No, it looks that way. Does. Anyway, the hockey conference final in the east started last night and Montreal again won on the road, I think. Am I correct? Did they have four goals in the first period at Carolina? Carolina had not. Carolina, like Oklahoma City in the NBA had not lost a game in the playoffs. They had two sweeps. Carolina home and Montreal blows their doors off. I think it's four in the first. Yeah, right. Montreal now six and two or seven and two on the road in the playoffs.

[Michael]

Now that's a stake season.

[Tony Kornheiser]

This reverses everything that we think is going to happen in the playoffs. That the home court, home ice, whatever means everything. Yeah, not to Montreal. No, not to Montreal.

[Nigel]

And Carolina has been just destroying people. Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Do you listen to the show? Because I just said they had won eight in a row. I was busy with recalibrating the bill from the Palm, I mean, or the potatoes, wondering how to plant them, playing them outside. Don't worry about it. Outside in the bags. We have the bags right here, the grow bags. We're going to put dirt and potting soil in the grow bags and potatoes and see what happens. Yes, in a couple of months see

[Michael]

if you can grow some more seed potatoes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I don't want seed potatoes. Apparently I looked at them. They're hideous. They're perfect for what we need, but I'm not eating those.

[Nigel]

They look just slightly better than the potatoes that were actually grown last year,

[Tony Kornheiser]

which were terrible, just terrible. They were the size of dimes. They were terrible. And the Knicks, the Knicks beat Cleveland in New York handily. Josh Hart scored a bunch of points, which he doesn't usually do, 27 or something like that. And they beat Them. They were up in a third period by 15, I think. And they won. They won by 15. Something like that.

[Michael]

Yeah. 26.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It wasn't. 26 points wasn't close. I think this is a sweep. I think what happened in the first game. Yeah. Now Cleveland is going to say, no, we're going to get home. We're going to be fine. Cleveland's been a great home team. They've only lost once at home during the playoffs. But, boy, it just feels. Doesn't it feel like the Knicks are going to win this? Yes, and they're going to sweep. It just. It feels that way because that was an amazing win. They had no right winning that game. They made up 22 points in around half the quarter to get to overtime and just extended that lead. Cleveland was done. I don't know. I don't know. I have no. I have no thoughts on that.

[Michael]

Is there any part of your fandom that gets reignited when you're watching the Knicks at this point of the playoffs?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Well, a little bit. Especially when they play in the Garden. Not so much when they play on the road. A little bit when they play in the Garden. I mean, I'm unfamiliar with the players. I think Brunson is a great player.

[Nigel]

Oh, sure.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They made this trade a couple of years ago with Minnesota, in which I thought they got the better of the deal because they got Karl Anthony Towns, they gave up Julius Randle, they gave up Dante DiVincenzo, and they brought back Karl Anthony Towns, who's. He's really good. He's not great. Yeah, he's not a Hall of Famer, but he's really good and appears to be coachable. And then they brought in. I was very surprised when they fired Thibodeau, but they brought in Mike Brown, who's a veteran guy. He's coached a lot of places, assistant and head coach a lot of places. I think he's won Coach of the year twice in the league. And they were lousy for a while. They played no defense at all. And now they do. Now they do. So something was said and something happened, and the Knicks are a much better team now than they were, let's say, in the middle of the season. Are they a championship team? Well, if they get there, they have a chance. Obviously, I don't think they're as good as the two Western teams, but it looks like they're going to sweep. How many is this in a row? 4? 7? Is this like nine in a row? I think they've won nine games in a Row at the moment in playoff conditions, you know, against good teams, you know, you're not always playing.

[Nigel]

The Wizards and they've generally been winning by like 40 or 50 points, 100 points.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They have the highest plus minus differential in the playoffs, in the history of the playoffs. So people get excited. I think they get overly, you know, I think too many people sort of claim that Nick's badge. I grew up here and so don't.

[Nigel]

Are you envious of all the celebrities sitting courtside?

[Tony Kornheiser]

No, not even a little. I'm glad they sit there. Yeah. I assume they pay real money for the seeds.

[Nigel]

One would hope.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You know, and you know, it's fine with me.

[Nigel]

It's great to see Dustin Hoffman in there. I think for game one.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's fine with me. Yeah. I mean, Dustin Hoffman is a New Yorker, right?

[Jason Locanfora]

Yes.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He's lived there his whole life.

[Nigel]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Some of these other people got there an hour and a half ago.

[Michael]

To your point about the ones you're going back to April 25th, is that right? Yeah.

[Nigel]

They lost to the Hawks. Yeah. They were down 21 to the Hawks and they haven't lost since.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And we're about to go into June. We're about to go into June. Yeah. All right, so we will take a break. Jason. First we have Jason Locanfora and Pat 40. We don't have basketball today, so I did my best. Or hockey. I'm Tony Kornheiser. This is the Tony Kornheiser Show. This episode of the Tony Kornheiser show is brought to you by Wild Grain. Wildgrain is the first baked from frozen subscription box for sourdough breads, artisanal pastries and fresh pastas. Unlike many store bought options, Wild Grain uses simple ingredients you can pronounce and a slow fermentation process that can be easier on your belly and richer in nutrients and antioxidants. And everything baked straight From Frozen in 25 minutes or less, no thawing required. The boxes are fully customizable too. There's a variety box plus gluten free vegan and a brand new protein box. Imagine having fresh bakery quality bread, pastries and pastas at home without any trips to the store. And don't just take my word for it. They have over 40,000 5 star reviews and have been voted the best food subscription box by USA Today for three years in a row. For a limited time, Wild Grain is offering our listeners $30 off your first box plus free croissants for life. Rob Stronick availed himself of that when you go to wildgrain.com Tony K. To start your subscription today. That's $30 off your first box and free croissants for life when you visit wildgrain.com Tony K. Or you can use the promo code Tony K At checkout. Let me just say this on a personal level. I baked last week. I made the sourdough bread spectacular.

[Nigel]

It's really good.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It was spectacular. And I keep croissants in the house.

[Michael]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

In case Michael and his family drop by. And then in, you know, 15 to 20 minutes, they have stuff waiting for the invite. Yeah, you're invited.

[Jason Locanfora]

Okay.

[Tony Kornheiser]

You're always welcome. Always welcome. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser show. This is Phil Lentz, whose music we have played before on this show. We're always happy to get his music. He writes. My new album, Bounce has been released. It features 10 original jazz, rock, and folk songs played by my great band. This is called late in the game. We like. We hope you do, too. And it plays in Jason Lock and Fora. And we will talk about Wannabe at some point, but we'll start with the Orioles. You're a Baltimore guy. You live in Baltimore. They were three years ago. Everybody thought they were the next great thing. They were gonna be sort of like Houston, you know, they were gonna use all these draft picks. They got all these young players. They were going to become a great team. They won, I think, 100 games, maybe over 100 games. And they're no good. They're no good. What happened?

[Jason Locanfora]

They're the despicable front office of the Houston Astros with zero playoff wins to show for it. Yeah, I mean, the Tide really began turning three, four years ago. And in previous iterations of me in Baltimore media, I chronicled this on a daily basis and literally pinpointed the moment when it became obvious to me that Michael Elias and his cronies had no understanding of urgency and no understanding of when it is time to put your foot down and forget about your master plan and your hugging of prospects and all the things you're doing that will save money for your owners. And you go out there and you get aggressive and you upgrade your major league roster the best way you possibly can. And you outmaneuver general managers who are actually care about winning for the best players available on the market. And you give your young core what they need to develop, and they did none of that. And you go back to the 2023 deadline and everything they've done in the off season since and the Deadline since except for acquire Corbin Burns. And when they got Corbin Burns, there were two caveats to that. One, they still needed at least one more starting pitcher. And two, they never were going to extend Corbin Burns. So it was, it was just another rental. They're, they're pretty pathetic. They don't recalibrate, they don't self scout, they don't hold themselves accountable. They, you know, Michael speaks once a month. He throws these ridiculous Ivy League word salads out there and he, he makes some faces and he really wants you to think that this is cutting into the court. And then he does the same garbage he always does. He meddles with the lineups. They don't let young players play all the time. They have K playing three different positions in the minors. They don't get good at any of them. They don't know how to build up, develop a starting pitcher through their minor league system to save their life. They literally haven't done it. I mean, if you want to give him credit for Kyle Bradish, I mean, I guess you could. He came over, he was already in double A. But it's, it's shameful and nothing's changing. It's just getting worse. They called Jackson Holiday up. He finally comes back from a hand injury and he plays two different positions within the first couple of innings of him being back, like, and then he's on the bench the next day. And like, it's just. They have not, they have completely incapable of understanding what it takes to instill baseball IQ and sound fundamentals and superior defensive acumen in any of their prospects, no matter how athletic they may be. They drafted nothing but shortstops. They don't have an everyday shortstop on their roster. Gunnar Henderson should be at third base. It's been obvious to anybody who watches on a regular basis that he's a better third baseman than a shortstop. But you know, Jackson Holiday can't play short either, and Jordan Westburg couldn't play short. And Joey Ortiz could play short but not hit. And they traded him for Corbin Burns. Like, it's a joke, Tone. It's a pathetic joke. And this new ownership group has shown zero, has given zero indication that they care about anything other than stadium upgrades, bobblehead giveaways, and who cares about the product? We're making more money. They're upgrading the infrastructure and the stadium for us. And if we, if we put the right giveaways in front of these people, we can get 25 to 30,000 of them out there. That, that seems to be all they care about. The Owner hasn't popped his head out in years. He went from riding the gravy train and squirting people in the spin the splash zone and having bobbleheads of himself given out and being the mayor of Baltimore until the moment it got real around here. The guys, the guy's hiding somewhere. He doesn't say anything, he doesn't do anything. It's. They look like a rudderless ship, they play like a rudderless ship. And Michael Lyons should have been fired years ago.

[Tony Kornheiser]

A couple of questions. One, how is the attendance? As you know, because they teased people with a winning team, how is the attendance? And the second question is, who has lost their jobs? And other than Michael Lias, who else should?

[Jason Locanfora]

Oh, well, I mean, they just fire managers. I mean, this is the third manager in a calendar year. None of them were really qualified for the job. None of them are particularly good. But I mean, when you work for Michael Elias, you don't have a chance. He doesn't want Buck show off. He doesn't want Joe Girardi. He doesn't want anyone who would challenge him. He just wants young guys who've never done it before, who, here's the lineup, here's how we do things. Don't say anything negative about me in the media. This, you know, just be along for the ride. It's, it's, it's shameful. So, I mean, he needs to be fired. His right hand man, Sigma Dell, needs to be fired. The PR staff has been a joke forever. Everybody said John Angelos is the worst owner in the world. It would stun you how many of his hires are still there. And not only are they still there, they've been given new titles and more money and more power. And that's in baseball operations, that's in communications, that's in broadcasting, that's in marketing. It's, it's truly, truly stunning. And again, it speaks to some private equity owners who are just looking to maximize profits and aren't having the most robust coaching searches or the most robust managing general. They don't have a general manager. That title was open. When they promoted Michael Lias. They created a vacant general manager hire. This front office badly needed, I mean, just begging for ideas and concepts outside of their cocoon. And instead they left that, they left the GM title vacant. Like it's, it really is a front, an affront to smart baseball people. And the attendance is good for the most part. When they give things away, you know, when they give away the bobbleheaded Jackson Holiday and his dog. I Mean, but that's what's going on here. I mean, it's literally, the baseball product is, I don't know, the fifth, sixth most important thing to these people. And it's obvious in everything they do.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's weird.

[Jason Locanfora]

It's a, it's a shell game. And I'm chronicling it on a daily basis at Orioles on si. And I'm chronicling it on a daily basis on my channels. YouTube.com backslash@big play Baltimore. Anything you want, smart commentary, analysis. You care even a little bit about the Baltimore Orioles or the Baltimore Ravens or, hey, just want to throw your man, lock it for a bone. Please subscribe at YouTube.com backslash@big play Baltimore.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Anything. We haven't talked about the draft. Really?

[Jason Locanfora]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is there anything that surprised you at all, or would you just like to carve up Aaron Rodgers in his last year?

[Jason Locanfora]

The Tyson thing was a stunner. It just was. No matter how you, you, you know, and, and I do believe and wrote

[Tony Kornheiser]

in real time, didn't they just give Stafford $55 million to make him happy? Right.

[Pat 40]

Yeah.

[Jason Locanfora]

And I think that that was going to happen either way. He was outperforming what they were paying him. And no one thought that if we do draft this Ty Simpson kid, he's ready to play for a year or two anyway. But that was certainly, that was certainly. They did a great job of keeping that under wraps. But I do fully believe that Sean McVay was on board. He did a great job acting in a certain way about it, very cavalier when asked about it before the draft. And I also believe that that Bizarro World press conference had to be drafted. Simpson was about other things other than Simpson. But again, to your larger point, I don't think he's playing for a couple years, so whatever. You know, I think teams like the Bengals and the Cowboys did a pretty good job. And the Bengals didn't have as many picks because they made the Dexter Lawrence trade. But I'm going to include him as a draft pick for them because they essentially got him 10th overall pick. You know, I think they leaned into. They had a sickness in their roster on one side of the ball, and I think they leaned in pretty heavily and probably did a pretty good job of cleaning it up. So I'm impressed by what they did. And yeah, I mean, people, people were certainly, you know, kind of gushing about certain teams, and both the New York teams were among them, which is highly unusual. And I think the Giants are far closer to being truly competitive than The Jets. But I also think the jets have now put together a roster that a year from now, or I guess 11 months from now, if they are in position to draft a quarterback. And the quarterback class next year includes Arch Manning, and it's as good as it could be. Boy, they. They actually might not be a total joke anymore a year from now.

[Tony Kornheiser]

That's interesting. And yeah, a lot of people are higher on the Giants because Giants get people back from being injured as well. You know, Giants looked okay and they got a new coach, and you never know, right? You never know. That's a winnable division.

[Jason Locanfora]

Giants will be respectable. Absolutely.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. I mean, Philadelphia could fall a little bit, and Washington and Dallas are not huge threats. They're. They're really not. I was interested to see that the new coach in Cleveland is basically saying desean Watson is his quarterback.

[Jason Locanfora]

That's. Well, you know, they're paying them 50 million bucks, Tone. And the owner this final year of this deal. And the owner, boy, he'd love to be able to get something for this guy. Like, even if he just plays well enough and somebody signs him to a decent deal and we get a compensatory pick. Like, they really don't want this to be the worst transaction in the history of professional sports. Not where are so far down the line that, you know, that may be baked into the cake, but. So Todd Monkin gets it. I do think he's genuinely intrigued by Shador Sanders, but I think he also knows that to get Shador Sanders ready, you'd probably ideally, by this time already kind of be throwing yourself at that and giving him every rep you can give him and really, you know, kind of preparing him a certain way. But Watson hasn't played much football in a while, and it's a new scheme for Watson, too. And again, Watson's making 50 times as much as Sugar Sanders or something close to it. So, you know, we know which way the wind's blowing there.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. All right. Talk about wannabet. Plug yourself.

[Jason Locanfora]

It's on hiatus, Tone.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Oh, it is.

[Jason Locanfora]

You have felt with Ben and I, our schedules don't really align anymore.

[Tony Kornheiser]

What?

[Jason Locanfora]

I'm. Yeah, I know. I'm surprised the news did not trickle to you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It did not.

[Jason Locanfora]

I mean, sweatshirt much in the mainstream press.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. What happened to all those sweatshirts? What happened to one bet? I thought you loved it.

[Jason Locanfora]

I do, but there's only so many hours in the day. And, you know, he and I went from being. Having I completely the same schedules to now having schedules that are completely in conflict And I'm creating these new digital ventures and I need to be nimble when a guest is available for The Daily Flock YouTube.com backslash@big play Baltimore or just Google lock. And for Big Play Baltimore and and Tone, that's, that's more monetized than one of BET ever got. And you know, I would just say it's on hiatus, but I'm happy for you.

[Tony Kornheiser]

I just don't know where I can go to get my, you know, bets down on La Liga and other things

[Pat 40]

that you offered more dipondish liga and

[Jason Locanfora]

you can get in our discord. So if you go to my Twitter, we are still putting pics in our discord. Had a good night last night. So the wannabe discord exists for now. The show may come back. It may. But for now, again, if you're remotely interested in the Ravens or the Orioles, I've got you covered on Orioles on SI, Ravens on SI and on the Daily Flock on my YouTube channel.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fantastic. Thank you, Jason.

[Jason Locanfora]

Thank you guys. Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's great to follow Jason's career. I am totally surprised of everything that Jason just said in the last minute and a half is a complete and utter shock to me. I need time to recover. So we'll take a break and come back with Pat 40. I'm Tony Kornheiser.

[Jason Locanfora]

This is the Tony Kornheiser show. Tony Kornheiser show.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Once again, this is Phil Lentz. This is called Bounce, which is the title song from his new album, Bounce. We like Phil Lentz. You can listen to this music without me babbling at the end of the show. Michael, if independent artists like Phil Lentz want to send us their music, how do they do it?

[Michael]

Send us your music by emailing it to jinglesonyquoenizershow.com and he plays in Pat

[Tony Kornheiser]

40 and and I want to see start with this news that Wilbon and I talked about on Wednesday. You were aware of it prior to that that the chairman of the Big Ten, commissioner of the Big Ten, Tony Petiti, wants a college playoff, a football playoff with 24 teams. Like what, what, what do you make of this?

[Pat 40]

Unfortunately, he's not alone, Tony. Most of the most of the rest of the commissioners also want a 2014 playoff now. And we have to me, if you want to just go ahead and ruin college football, this is an excellent step towards doing so. They've already done their best to ruin the NCAA basketball tournament by expanding it beyond a point. Anybody wants it football. This, this would, I think, be A much bigger breaking point. And this is, it's greed, it's, you know, participation, trophy mentality. It's trying to convince fans that you've had a great season just because they've turned the Carquest bowl into a first round playoff game. And oh boy, now we're doing that. No, fans aren't stupid. They'll see through this. You think Michigan last year would have been excited to have been in the playoffs? They didn't like that team. The fans didn't like that team. They would have been in and been in easily last year. That's the problem. Here we are rewarding slightly above average teams with a fake prize. Basically. If this, if this happens for, because they, because college sports can't say no to anybody when it comes to the idea of we need more money.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So let me ask, I mean, before I make the jokes like they'll have, you know, play in games in Dayton. Before I do that, let me, let me just do like a reasonable amount of questions here. Let's start with the first question. How many weeks for the winner? How many games and weeks are we talking about at 24.

[Pat 40]

We're talking about a five round playoff. Yeah, I mean, you know, the top 10, eight would get a buy, would play four rounds, but we're talking about five for, for the other 16 teams to make this thing happen. Like they're, they're breaking a whole bunch of eggs. If it's going to happen, we're going to get rid of conference championship games. We're going to start a week earlier in August when it's 1,000 degrees and a lot of people in the country still want to have summer as opposed to lugging off to a insufferably hot football stadium. So those are the things that have to happen to then play an incredibly long season.

[Tony Kornheiser]

If you get rid of the conference championship games, okay, that's one week. You're talking about five weeks for the winner. What happens to the regular season schedule?

[Pat 40]

The regular season schedule continues to get dismantled is what happens to that. I mean, the, the games that matter matter less. And the games that make the regular season of college football incredibly dramatic and impactful become. Eh. Eh. Well, we lost. So what? LSU loses to Alabama, that doesn't matter. We're still going to be 18th. We're getting in. Michigan loses to Ohio State. So what? We're getting in so on and so forth. The big November games that used to have incredible consequences and still have very high consequences even in a 12 team playoff matter less and less. And they don't seem to care. They actually, the argument from Petiti is the opposite, which to me is fallacy, is that, no, everybody's still going to be playing for something because they're going to be trying to position themselves for seeding and so on and so forth, but it's still, the actual impact of each game is undoubtedly going to be less.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Sure. I mean, I said this on the PTI show that you just, you are devaluing pretty much everything that goes on here if you do this, that, you know, and people say, well, some of the smaller schools can get in because the field is larger. James Madison can get in. And I said, no, no, Petiti doesn't want James Madison. He wants Minnesota and Iowa and, God help us, Maryland. Right. I mean, that's right. That's what.

[Pat 40]

Yes, yes. Oh, this is 100%. And that's why now the ACC and the Big 12 have changed their minds and are on board with this, is because, like, hey, here's our chance to get our semi pretty good teams into a playoff and make it sound like we've really done something here. We have three playoff teams this year. Now you still have one good team and a bunch of mediocre teams.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Is there. There's, there's support for this. There's support for this.

[Pat 40]

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Really?

[Pat 40]

Yeah. Right now it's basically the SEC holding the fort. And as much as Greg Sankey has at times taken a sledgehammer to what's good in college athletics right now, if you don't want a 2014 playoff, you are a Greg Sankey backer at the SEC because he doesn't. He wants 16 and he's holding the line against this. And this is, of course, the other lunacy of where college athletics is. The Big Ten and the SEC get to decide this all by themselves.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Right? Right.

[Pat 40]

The other conferences were so scared that those two were going to walk away that they said, you're in charge, you get most of the money and you get all of the decision making power. So we'll see. The SEC meetings are next week after Memorial Day, and we will see if they come out of that and still say, no, we are not going to a 2014 playoff.

[Tony Kornheiser]

If there were a 2014 playoff, when would the championship game be? Would it go all the way to February?

[Pat 40]

It would not. You know, there's some hope that they could. Actually, this may be somewhat counterintuitive, but to shrink the length of time because, I mean, it's ridiculous this year, this next 2026 championship is late January 27th. And that's the same for the next two years after that, if we maintain this format.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay.

[Jason Locanfora]

The. If you.

[Pat 40]

If you move to week zero and again, play games when everything is hotter than the surface of Venus. And if you get rid of championship game week. So you've got two weeks there, you can compact this a little bit, not a lot.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Okay. Let me go to another topic as I read your story. I love this. The Texas Tech quarterback whose name escapes me at the moment. Can you just lay out the basic plot of the Texas Tech quarterback.

[Pat 40]

Yeah. Brendan Sorsby. The name. And may have been the highest price transfer in college football. You know, reported 5 million at least, maybe 6 million because he had to pay a million dollars to break his contract with Cincinnati. And it turns out he'd been pretty avid gambler. And if there's one rule that still applies in college sports, you can't gamble. You can't gamble on your team, you can't gamble on your sport, you can't gamble on your school.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And he has. And he has.

[Pat 40]

He hit the triple crown. He did all.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. You wrote in this piece his gambling is such that he bet on Turkish basketball. Most of us didn't know there was Turkish basketball and couldn't conceive of betting on it. And you said he did, right?

[Pat 40]

He did. He bet on multiple incredibly obscure sports. And part of that might have been like random bet generator things that just say, hey, you want to bet this? He's like, sure, you know, but yes, yes, he did. He bet on incredibly obscure things in addition to college football, college basketball and everything else.

[Tony Kornheiser]

So. So some reasonable people, not all reasonable people, but some reasonable people believe that he shouldn't be a college quarterback betting on football and betting on his own team. And his position, his lawyer's position, was that it will be detrimental to his mental health if he can't practice with the team. What. What is going on here, Pat?

[Pat 40]

To me, I, you know, I thought that was an incredible statement. That was. And this is Jeffrey Kessler and Scott Thompsett, who.

[Tony Kornheiser]

They know what they're doing.

[Pat 40]

Yes, they do. They have spent their careers jabbing a stick in the eye of the ncaa.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Pat 40]

And that's who they're suing here for his eligibility. And to make this case, he's in a residential treatment facility right now. He sure as heck can't practice now, nor should he be. He's trying to get himself well from a gambling addiction. And when he comes out, basically says that, yeah, I'll feel better if I Get the practice, really? And that's what we're going with. And like, the football has been placed on this priority here. It's not, oh, you know, we need for Brendan Sorsby to be a healthy member of a university or society or whatever. No, I mean, that guy, if he's got. He's not out there throwing with his new receivers, what are we doing here? It's bad for his health. It's bad for everybody.

[Tony Kornheiser]

He is a casualty of betting. He is a casualty of all of these schools and leagues getting in bed with betting where they never did before and now they do. And there are many people like this that we don't know about that become addicted to gambling. And I would think, you know, that there you'd want to help them. And one of the ways you might help them is not put them in an environment where it's all about sports and gambling.

[Pat 40]

Yes, that would be my position on this. Whether that's Texas Techs or certainly Brendan Sorsby's doesn't necessarily seem to be the case. And I mean, you're right. Look, the ease with which anybody can bet now is just breathtaking. Literally, if you're 21 or even if you're not, you can get the app and it's on your phone, you flip the app and all of a sudden it's like, hey, bet on this, bet on that. It's, you know, just put in $5, $50, $100, whatever, right there. And yeah, it's a problem.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Can't be good. I mean, I will not say that gambling should be illegal. I'm not gonna go that far. But this doesn't feel good. The way they're doing it now, the amount of things you can bet on, the small little prop bets, it just. Wow, it doesn't feel good. I gotta ask you one more question. Amazon is gonna broadcast three Duke games. Is this fair? I mean, isn't that. Doesn't that put Duke in a position of really ahead of everybody else in terms of nil and publicity and everything?

[Pat 40]

Sure it does. Absolutely. You could argue Duke already was ahead, but this is a next level ahead, I think because of the amount of money it puts directly in Duke's pocket that they don't have to share with the acc?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yes.

[Pat 40]

As you know, as part of a broadcast meteorites deal. And I mean, yeah, it's, you know, it's the golden rules. Those with the gold make the rules and they found this. I don't want to know whether it's a loophole, per se. But you play three, nine conference games where there's not necessarily a defined league rights holder and you get to keep the money and Amazon's willing to pay them quite a bit of money to do it. And yeah, theoretically that then goes into the pockets of the players in terms of in the form of nil.

[Tony Kornheiser]

It's almost like owning Nike if you're Oregon and having all the money in the world to give to anybody you want. All right, plug your podcast for us.

[Pat 40]

All right. Others receiving votes, si.com, sports Illustrated. It's on YouTube. Check it out. Apple, et cetera. And we'll be recording again on Sunday.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Fabulous. Thank you, Pat, as always. Thank you, Pat. 40. Boys and girls, we will have a break and after the break we will have email and jingle and I am Tony Kornheiser. You're listening to the Tony Kornheiser Show. The Tony Kornheiser Show. Those are the familiar or unfamiliar sounds of a euphonium that is Phil Coleman. It's wonderful. You want to do the Bethesda Bagel ad for us?

[Nigel]

Yes, Bethesda Bagels. We love them. You will as well. Just go to Bethesda Bagels.com for the location in the DC area near Stew, then pop one in and you'll be thrilled.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Before we get to the mailbag, let me just say if I was a sculptor, but then again, no. Or a man who makes potions in a traveling show. I know it's not much, but it's the the best I can do. My gift is my song and this one's for you, Bernie Taupin, who wrote the lyrics to that song. Elton John wrote the music to that song. Bernie Taupin turned 76 years old today. He's a great lyricist.

[Nigel]

Oh yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Thanks to our guests today, Jason Lochinfor and Pat40. Thanks as well to today's sponsors. Remember, you can listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify and Odyssey. Get the show through Apple Podcasts. Please leave us a review. Now. We have this long email about organics stuff from Bill Matfeld who writes us all the time from Fort Mill, South Carolina. He says, I'm sure because of your comment about everything being organic, you might get a lot of emails. So as a chemical engineer, I will chime in. I'm not a farmer, so I can't give you an informed opinion on whether or not organic or non organic potatoes grow better. As an engineer, I would advise planting some potatoes that are labeled organic and some that aren't and see for yourself if there's a difference in yield or quality. I'm rather impressed that you are correct that a lot of everyday things we have are in fact organic in the sense that they are made up of organic chemicals. But there is a vast difference between an organic chemical compound and an organic product, and the fact that both contain the word organic can create some confusion. Organic chemicals are compounds whose core components are strings or rings of primarily carbon and hydrogen atoms. Oils, plastics, the gasolines in your car, the carbohydrates in your potatoes, and the ethanol in your Johnnie Walker Blue are all made up of organic chemicals. At the molecular level, many organic compounds are naturally occurring, but many cannot be found in nature in sufficient quantities and have to be synthetically produced. While some organic compounds are good for you, such as the stuff that makes up meats and vegetables, there are many that are toxic. The carbs in your potatoes are good to eat. The gasoline in your car would be fatal. Johnnie Walker Blue is somewhere in the middle. It's great until suddenly it's not. And then. And then it's very, very bad. Then you need some of that other organic chemical aspirin. Organic products, on the other hand, are something completely different. These are products that are grown or made using mostly natural occurring ingredients or processes. In general, an organic product would avoid or limit the amount of synthetic chemicals, such as artificial fertilizers and pesticides. The irony is that an organic product seeks to avoid using artificial substances anywhere in the process production process, even though some of those artificial substances are themselves organic compounds. I hope that straightens it out for everyone. I'm lost.

[Michael]

I appreciate you back to college.

[Nigel]

Yeah, I was gonna say they take you back to biology for non majors, not science majors.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Just complete gone from Chris Cavanaugh.

[Michael]

This is a guy who doesn't wash his berries all the time.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, I don't. I just eat them out of the box.

[Nigel]

Really?

[Pat 40]

Yeah.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah. Haven't died yet. Soon. Chris Cavanaugh, Cincinnati. On the May 18th podcast, Steve Sands said Pringles are not potato chips. He described them as an offset of the potato family. As the former buyer of the ingredients for Pringles, I would like to educate him. Pringles are primarily made from dried potato.

[Michael]

Primarily.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Primarily dehydrated potatoes formed into a flaky powder, but include other starches. Corn, rice, wheat flour. It's formed into a dough and then pressed and fried. The plant produces enough Pringles in one day that it would be approximately 52 miles high if stacked one on top of the other. I found this unbelievable until I did the math based on daily capacity and average chip width. And it checks out. Having visited the plants in both Jackson, Tennessee and Mechelen, Belgium, I can attest there is nothing tastier than a hot, fresh barbecue or sour cream and onion chip right off the end of the line. It may even be better than hot bagels, but not as thrilling as hot bench. If Sansi would like to learn more, I'm happy to play a round of golf with him. I so and I can regale him with stories from my Pringles days. We can bet a case of whatever flavor he likes, but I'm getting strokes. P.S. rick Devins was fantastic on Survivor, and I think he would be a great guest on the show. That would even get my daughter to listen. But we're gonna do that. Yes, we've contacted him. From Jeff donaldson In Unionville, N.C. there are 70 to 80 chips in a can of Pringles. Totally doable in a single setting. That's it. That's the email. Okay. From Mike Roseberry in State College, Pennsylvania. So what I'm hearing is that Pringles are essentially the scrapple of the potato world. Yes, I think that's it. Seems fair. From David Bradley in Sterling, Virginia. Tony, I'm into potatoes, too. I've had a large order of McDonald's fries sitting in a bag on my kitchen counter for nearly two weeks with no signs of eyes or sprouts. Any advice? Put it in the microwave if you can stand it. Okay. Oh, this is another one from Steve the Sycophants, Our second from Steve. Recent tales of comments that almost died brought back ancient memories of a briefing at my province advisory team in Vietnam. Our commanding officer was Colonel Joy. That's Joy. A good man, but definitely not inclined to frivolity. One of our second lieutenants finished his part of the briefing, then addressed the colonel with, I always wanted to serve in a parachute battalion with you, sir. As the rest of the staff tried to figure out what was going on, the lieutenant added, so I could jump for joy. There was a deathly hush. Then we saw the colonel slightly smile and everybody broke up. When I later asked the lieutenant if he had considered what might happen to him if the colonel was angry, he replied, captain, I'm a second lieutenant advising a regional force unit in Vietnam. Just what else can the colonel do to me? He had a point. Steve the sicko fan from Stewart in Bethany beach, the person to whom I'm related by marriage, and I celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary last night in Delaware. We need to pivot. Dinner plans with our go to special occasion restaurant closed before Memorial Day, I remembered you mentioning a particularly good dinner at the Federal in Rehoboth. Federal Fritter.

[Nigel]

That's.

[Tony Kornheiser]

Yeah, it's Todd Gray's place, so we took your word for it. The conversation went something like this wife. Where'd you hear about this place? Me, Tony Kornheiser, wife.

[Pat 40]

Who?

[Tony Kornheiser]

Me? The PTI guy and ESPN wife. Okay. We were halfway through our meal when a David Aldrich moment arrived in the form of former CHATTER co owner Gary Williams, who sat next to us. Coach without breaking stride on the way out, I quickly said thanks for the championship, coach. He gave a smile and thanks. I would have loved to say that his UMD championship run is one of my earliest memories of the NCAA tournament, complete with a school project poster size Sharpie to draw a bracket and track the tournament. It's been my favorite annual sporting event. Oh yeah, ever since. In no small part to his 2002 team that seemed a little too long winded to share with a stranger eating dinner. So perhaps you can pass it along along for me. I'm sure he'd remember me. After all, we both ordered the spring rolls. One good dinner recommendation for another Pomodoro in Bethany is the best pizza in the area. Make sure you call ahead and schedule a specific pickup time.

[Nigel]

Maduro. Keep that in mind.

[Tony Kornheiser]

From Elaine Caffrey Wednesday afternoon at rush hour, following a sudden downpour, Atlanta highways were instantly flooded. Unsurprisingly, all of the Waymo vehicles in the city had to be shut down because they did not know better than to drive into standing water. They were getting stuck everywhere. Some of them were empty and some had passengers. But it's not quite a good look for the Waymo Corporation in general. I'm not sure if that technology is quite ready yet. And she has pictures of how flooded Atlanta is like a line of cars. How flooded Atlanta is from Chris Foster, the official Subaru rep of the show in Wichita, Kansas. I've now been listening to the show for 10 years. I started in 2016 during the Gretchen Wu saga. Thanks for all of the laughs and life advice along the way. And thank you for despising my job. Wayne Nifkowski in Penniesburg, Ohio I'm a Detroit Tigers fan and as of this email, The Tigers are 20 and 29. I think they lost again last night. They got swept to Cleveland. Yeah, the Tigers announcers just said Kyle Finnegan warming up in the Tigers bullpen. Baseball season over, Summer over. When does NFL preseason start?

[Jason Locanfora]

It's a Tiger.

[Tony Kornheiser]

And from Brandon Borzelli. When you watered the peppers, did you use that little metal pump can that the Don used? Is this how you'll spend your final days? Watering vegetables and chasing your grandchildren? Just don't do it with an orange peel in your mouth. That might induce coughing. And at your age, one big coughing fit could end it all. Tell Michael if Tessio approaches him at the funeral. It's a trap. If you're out on your bike tonight, everyone is Puts it in perspective when you're carrying the boys. Last night we're what today for the podcast we only recording about baseball.

[Phil Lentz]

It felt so promising when we first met Light and breezy at that cozy luncheonette Possibilities seem endless what could go wrong until she said let's just be friends. Heard those words before just hanging in the air Hope so raised and dashed A future no longer there why did I think this time would not be the same? That my luck would change so late in the game? I still remember a long time ago There was a gal who loved dark below but what's this one flaw in that romance? I hate wine so much for that chance. The reasons are many but they're really all the same I'm tired, I'm busy what was your name? Perhaps it's the bright side Something to learn no, nothing there Just more heartburn. One more story that I can recall A redhead beauty with a deep southern drawl she gave advice on women just learn to cook that ain't happening I'm not that kind of snook. So I'm back on the market where I guess I belong Searching for words for the latest love song Hope springs eternal, that's what they say Will my luck ever change so late in the

[Jason Locanfora]

game Late in the game.